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Workforce Development

We strive to develop and grow a diverse, culturally responsive health care workforce and raise awareness of underemployment among individuals with disabilities. A strong workforce depends on attracting, training, and mentoring a steady stream of workers for high-demand jobs, as well as ensuring those already in the field have continuous education, training, and mentorship to be skilled and effective in their roles.

Medical Interpreter Training, using both spoken languages and American Sign Language, to improve understanding between clinicians and patients with limited English proficiency in MassHealth-funded settings.

Our New England AIDS Education and Training Center, providing education, training, technical assistance, skills building and clinical mentoring opportunities for health care providers addressing effective counseling, diagnosis, treatment and care management of people living with HIV/AIDS and those at risk for HIV/AIDS.

Experts

Related Work

Whether the task is determining if a disability retirement applicant is prevented from performing their past public employment or whether they are able to adjust to other substantial work, administering disability benefit claims is a complex process that requires a sophisticated skill-set to ensure accurate and objective determinations. A critical component of that process is a comprehensive vocational assessment that determines a disability applicants vocational skills and abilities before a final recommendation is rendered.

A new report making the case for Community Health Workers and assessing the fiscal impact a CHW certification program could have in Connecticut was prepared with the assistance of health policy expert Katharine London of UMass Medical School's Health Law & Policy team. The report was released by the Connecticut Office of Health Strategy as part of its State Innovation Model project.

This technical report was compiled by the Hispanic Health Council in partnership with Southwestern AHEC and a panel of Community Health Worker Policy Research Experts which included Katharine London from our Health Law & Policy team. The report offers a number of policy recommendations for community health workers for communities that might benefit from community-based services.

In this presentation, Katharine London of the Center for Health Law and Economics makes her case for offering sustainable funding for community health worker services. Research has shown community health workers can have a distinct impact on health systems, helping them improve population health and contain costs, while also promoting health equity and community engagement.

Direct care workforce shortages, increasing health care costs, and limited access to services force many families to make life-changing decisions to care for family members with long term disabilities or who are chronically ill at home. For this project, the authors conducted an environmental scan of current policies and programs for state and federally funded respite services across Massachusetts’ state agencies.

The results of this project demonstrate the variability in Massachusetts’ state policies and program practices in four primary areas:

As the United States health care system grows, so does the need for trained medical professionals - especially in the form of in home care aides. The US Bureau of of Labor Statistics projects a 26 percent increase in demand for these kinds of health workers by 2024 - and with rising demand comes new need for proper medical education. This study presents case studies of six state-based training models for new home care aides and discusses the recruitment process, curriculum design and delivery methods of all six methods.

Related Information

Our team focuses on meeting the needs of people with disabilities from birth through the end of life, particularly issues concerning health, safety and employment, as well as supporting access to community-based long term services and supports.

More than 2 million people are incarcerated in the United States. Justice-involved populations experience high rates of chronic medical conditions, and substance abuse and mental illness are prevalent. Health and criminal justice agencies face a significant challenge in providing appropriate, high-quality and cost-effective care to these individuals.

Our policy, operational, legal, research and analytical experts provide a full spectrum of program development services. UMass consultants offer research and analysis as well as strategic and operational support. Our program development and design services enable our clients to better manage existing programs and maximize the success of new programs.

Broad-based stakeholder participation in the development of new policies or programs – including demonstration projects – is critical to the success of any initiative. We can help clients solicit stakeholder input so they can make critical and thoughtful decisions about design, operation, and implementation.

Our training and education programs target health and human service professionals, people with disabilities and other chronic illnesses, employers, and families. We use a wide range of teaching modalities, formats, styles, languages, and technologies to foster learning.

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